NEW MEXICO MARIJUANA BILL RAISES CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

SANTA FE, N.M. - The New Mexico Attorney General's Office is raising a
red flag over a provision added to the medicinal marijuana bill making
its way through the Legislature.

Assistant Attorney General Michael Cox warned in an analysis of the
bill that a change designed to make the measure comply with federal
law might actually make it unconstitutional.

The Senate Public Affairs Committee revamped the measure, Senate Bill
8, to allow the state to cultivate and distribute marijuana to
patients suffering from specific debilitating illnesses.

The committee also added language that says the state law should
comply with federal law. Similar language was used for a medicinal
marijuana bill passed by the Senate in 2001.

Last year's bill never made it out of the Legislature.

Cox, in his analysis of the substitute for SB 8, said New Mexico may
be headed for trouble if it ties the state law to the federal
Controlled Substance Act - which the Supreme Court said does not make
an exception for the medical use of marijuana.